Patience, timing pay off for Vikings in Greg Jennings’ deal

Before Greg Jennings made it to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday for a free-agent visit, many observers figured he was leveraging them against his old club the Packers in order to get a deal to return to Green Bay.

The thinking was Jennings had missed out on a bigger opportunity he figured would await him in free agency, so he would use a team desperate for help at wide receiver to extract the best possible offer from the Packers.

Well, Jennings wound up taking the best offer from the Vikings. Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman more or less alluded to this when he talked about the process on Friday night after his team signed Jennings to a five-year contract, adding a legitimate playmaker to an offense in dire need of one for the passing game.

“I don't like to rush things,” Spielman said, according to Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN. “Sometimes if you rush things on a player or a situation, it doesn't work out. So, that's what we try to preach. We want it to be a fit for the player as much as it is a fit for us, and that's very important to us.”

In the end, Jennings got $47.5 million with $18 million guaranteed but we’ll see how the money adds up when the details come out. If that’s all there it’s a sparkling deal for someone many didn’t believe would get close to $10 million per season.

“Minnesota stepped up to the plate,” said Jennings, who admitted it came down to the Vikings or Packers. “They showed me and my family that they wanted the Jennings family to be a part of what they were doing as an organization and that's why I'm standing here.

“I was looking for change. Again, Green Bay … I gave them seven good years. They were seven great years for myself. I had a lot of success. Obviously, we were able to win, and it was great.”

Welcome to National Football Post

Our mission is to provide you with the best insights and news from around the NFL and College football. Our team of insiders have been close to the game their entire careers and provide insights you won't find anywhere else. But it doesn't stop there. You are a pivotal part of our community. We have some exciting features through myNFP that we'll be releasing in the coming weeks. You can create scouting reports, build and share mock drafts, and get your take on the football world out there. Thank you for including us among the places you go to learn about the game you love.